Here at Nine Rivers Distillery we intend to place great emphasis on fermentation in whisky production at our distillery – hence adding Neil Playfoot to the team. As one of our core principles, we want to revive the use of brewing yeast when making whisky. A tradition which has been mostly lost in Scotch whisky […]
Read MoreHere at Nine Rivers Distillery we intend to place great emphasis on fermentation in whisky production at our distillery – hence adding Neil Playfoot to the team. As one of our core principles, we want to revive the use of brewing yeast when making whisky. A tradition which has been mostly lost in Scotch whisky production in favour of consistency and high alcohol yielding yeasts over flavours and aromas.
Let’s start with a recap on the basics (sorry Whisky Nerds, you’ll already know this, but give us a moment to bring everyone up to speed) so we’re all in the same place.
This end product can then be either put into a still (to make whisky or other alcohols) or put through some other processes to create beer.
Let me first caveat this with stating that the following in a generalisation and of course there are some really exciting exceptions to the following.
Generally speaking, most whisky producers (for various reasons) are very conscious of costs of production. While it might be unfair to state that most whisky producers are penny pinching pirates that shave every cost to the bone for the sake of increasing profits by a few percentage points, we can all accept that whisky costs considerably more to create than unaged products such as vodka and gin, while still carrying the same levels of taxes. Often, every single cost is relevant so ensuring maximum amount of alcohol can be created from a wash, in the shortest amount of time, is very important to most producers.
So in the case of creating whisky, fast acting, highly productive yeasts are of paramount importance, often at the sacrifice of flavours and aromas. With creating craft beers, a huge amount of attention is paid to both the yeasts that are used and the fermentation process. Longer fermentations controlled at particular temperatures allow a brewer to predict and achieve the desired flavour in the final beer. If the fermentation is too quick or the temperature to high, then off-flavours are produced. Whisky producers typically just want a base alcohol to distill, relying on flavours and aromas to be created at the point of distillation, and then during the maturation in the case.
In brewing you can take the same sugar liquid we made from the malt and hot water and depending on what yeast and how we control the fermentation make entirely different beers.
Let’s say we have out light-yellow coloured sugary liquid which we plan to ferment. We could do the following:
Logic would infer that if we can create at least three (we could do more, but let’s keep it simple for now) different types of beer from the same grains, but with varying the yeast used and the fermentation process, then it stands to reason that we could create three different types of whisky.
We would of course have to include some constants in there, such as maturing the whiskies in the same type of wood, for the same length of time, in the same conditions, and we’d have to ensure that the whisky was not over powered by a dominant cask seasoning or cask finish such as sherry. But, if we accept that distillation CONCENTRATES alcohol and (subject to how hard, or fast the distillation is run) aromas and flavours, it will be concentrating the aromas and the flavours created during fermentation – right?
With the knowledge that different yeasts and fermentation processes will create different beers (and therefore should create different wash) we can take this one step further by adding a layer of unique, terroir specific angle to our whisky by utilising local yeast strains. But before we get onto that, let’s start by understanding what yeast actually is.
Yeasts are single-celled, microorganisms and fall under the classification of fungus. While we won’t go too deep into the science lesson and start talking about the evolution of yeasts from multicellular organisms (a step “backwards” in evolution in the typical sense), or the phylogenetic diversity which results in the placement of yeasts in two separate phyla, lets keep it simple and generalise fermentation yeasts as organisms that metabolise sugars and excrete alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Scotch whisky producers typically use one of 4 types of commercially available Saccharomyces cerevisae yeasts and while other whisky producers have experimented with other yeasts (Don Livermore, Master Blender at Hiram Walker & Sons in Canada created a whisky yeast flavour wheel back in 2017 that showed what yeast can contribute to whisky) there is something to be said for the reliability and consistency of commercial yeast strains. One spoiled batch can be a commercial loss, which is often too much for smaller producers to absorb.
We are working with a number of local universities and a global leader in the production of yeasts, to harvest local, wild yeast strains. While there’s loads of nerdy science that happens to take wild yeast to a point of being a viable strain for fermenting wash, the basic steps consist of taking swab samples from potential yeast sources and propagate the samples on plates. As the cultures grow and multiply, individual yeast strains can be isolated and grown on until there is enough to pitch into sample fermentation batches.
These fermented batches can be distilled and then the new make spirit can be analysed from a science based perspective, but also from our own tasting panels, made up of our investors of course – one of the many perks of being involved in Nine Rivers Distillery – free booze (*cough* “tasting samples” as they are officially called).
The yeasts that are behind the best ranking new make spirits will then be propagated to commercial scale and will be used to craft our whiskies.
While we’re no experts in the classical taxonomy of organisms, we know it has to be in latin. So our short list currently consists of the following:
No doubt we’ll end up with some kind of voting system to pick the best name
Something really unique to our proposition. Something that is in every way, not only authentically Chinese, but unique to our local area, Da Chi, Longyan, Fujian, because it’s made from something local right at the very start of the production process.
The sugars were converted to alcohol by local yeast strains.
It also means that no one else, anywhere in China, at any other distillery, can create a whisky that is the same as ours.
Simple because we think that whisky made in China, should be distinctively Chinese in every possible aspect.
There are so many whisky distillery projects here in China that are seeking to replicate Scotch whisky. Frankly, apart from this being completely boring, it’s also just playing to the international narrative that China cannot innovate, it can only copy and replicate. Of course, this is absolute nonsense as China has not only been innovative in many industries, but has grown to literally dominate many in just a few decades. We think the same should be true about whisky.
Looking to so many success cases in “New World” whisky, from literally every corner of Europe, to India and Australasia. There have been so many amazing, exciting and modern whisky brands that have set out to make unique and distinctive whiskies that stand alone and independently of the typical scotch styles, and they have done it successfully.
These examples are both a foundation and an inspiration to what we want to do here at Nine Rivers Distillery. We’re aiming to shout out to the whisky loving world:
If you enjoyed reading about how we currently don’t see any alternatives to dramfunded, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
One of the easiest ways to help our project succeed is to take an interest in anything we have for sale. You can find out what we have if you CLICK HERE and go to our shop. We’ll make a few percentage points (after sales tax) and this goes directly to our project.
You could help us by simply buying your very own Brick for Life – a brick with a steel name plate wrapped around it, which will be cemented into The Plenum (our feature wall) in July 2023. Every brick owner is entitled to a free dram for life every time they visit us in Longyan, Fujian.
Or, you could learn more about being involved and help us grow to our target of 1000 stakeholders. You can read more about how we are Dramfunded if you CLICK HERE. Remember, we currently have no alternatives to dramfunded!
Last, but as important as all the other points above, you can help us by reading, liking and sharing our content across some of the more popular platforms.
LinkedIn users you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
YouTube users, you can CLICK HERE.
Twitter users, you can CLICK HERE.
Instagram users, you can CLICK HERE.
Or follow us on WeChat using the QR code below.
What are the alternatives to Dramfunded? Could Nine Rivers Distillery have been possible with other approaches? If so, why was the choice for Dramfunded made? We explore all this and more below. As a frame of context, it’s probably worth explaining how businesses are normally funded: They emerge from an idea, to a startup, and […]
Read MoreWhat are the alternatives to Dramfunded? Could Nine Rivers Distillery have been possible with other approaches? If so, why was the choice for Dramfunded made? We explore all this and more below.
As a frame of context, it’s probably worth explaining how businesses are normally funded: They emerge from an idea, to a startup, and then on to an operational business resulting in, in some cases, a public listing. Don’t worry, we won’t get all nerdy about this. We’ll keep it simple and from OUR perspective, so before any investment experts pile in ranting about how we’re wrong, please remember that we’re humble whisky lovers, not investment bankers.
From our point of view, we saw our key stages as being the following:
Pre-Seed. The first drop of money where a founder or founders would have some cash to put a concept together.
Seed rounds and beyond are where a founder or founders might reach out to friends, family and professional connections with a concept that needs funding to sprout. There is also a common trend to engage with professional investors such as angel investors, venture capitalist and eventually private equity. We’ll explain these in a moment.
The seed rounds are normally broken down into phases, called Series A, B, C and whatever other letters might be needed to distinguish different rounds of funding.
Series A might reach out to angel investors. Series B might include venture capital companies. Series C might include private equity. Angel investors typically work in the US$1-US$10 million range, and are usually prepared to take more risk for expected bigger returns. Venture capitalists typically work in the US$10-US$50 million range, investing in more established and proven businesses. Because the business has established footing, there is less risk and less return than an angel investor. Private Equity works with bigger numbers, lower returns, and expects to see a firmly established operation, perhaps a market leader or dominant brand.
We started with a Pre-Seed investment round – this is where we pooled together some rambos (our term for RMB) to cover all the early costs. These costs included setting up a legal entity, paying for some lawyers to legalise our view on the company structure, shareholders agreements, renting and registering an office (all companies need a formal office in China – none of that PO box nonsense, or adding a letter to a home address to refer to a desk in a garden shed) and covering travel costs to travel the length and breadth of China to find a home for our project. If there was an alternative to dramfunded, it definitely wouldn’t have had such a cool origin story. Plus, we also used some money to register all our IP (intellectual property) which included trademarks and patents.
We then moved into the Seed Round, where all of our Pre-Seed investors threw in more money and we brought in more people with more money. We needed this to show the government here in Longyan that we were serious and that we had the money to bid for land. We put down a deposit and engaged with our architects to start designing our new home.
More lawyers, more legal costs, including a restructure (yup, first load of lawyers gave us the wrong advice), and we put Hayden Zou full time in Longyan to start moving things forward on a local level. With his cheerful demeanor and can-do attitude, he’s been rocking things in Longyan.
Logically, the next thing to do would have been to start a Series A round, but (although we needed more money) the project just wasn’t at the developmental level needed to start a Series A. So, instead, we did a couple of Convertible Note rounds.
A convertible note is similar to a loan and kinda like an investment. Investors throw in their money and earn an agreed rate of interest. The notes then have a clause where, at the start of an equity round (Series A) the note holder can either take back their money and the interest earned, or, convert them into Shares at the Series A round.
In Series A, we wanted to raise enough money to build the first 3 buildings of our distillery, purchase all the stills and other shiny things we needed to start producing, and get some spirit running off the stills. We worked out that we needed about ¥100 million and that would need about 1000 whisky lovers.
There’s some simple maths behind that number. The board have always funded 60% of the project, leaving the other 40% to be funded by micro-investor whisky lovers. We know the average investment from our whisky lover army, so a few button clicks on a calculator and bingo, we have a pretty accurate guess. Who said high school math was useless?
However, building up to 1000 people takes time, so rather than have everyone waiting for as long as it takes before they get their share certificate, we split our Series A into 4 phases, allowing us to essentially round closure and issue certificates, within months of investment, as opposed to waiting until everyone had chipped in.
There almost were. We considered a few alternatives to our dramfunded approach. We had the calls and we did the meetings. Yet, it just wasn’t right for us at the time.
We won’t kiss and tell (it’s rather uncouth to do that after all), but the major difference is simply the massive void that we saw between their “knowledge” and our “experience”. While MBA’s, hand tailored suits, shiny shoes, and monologues full of buzz words and acronyms sound rather impressive, they don’t mean diddley if you don’t know China at a grass roots level.
Bringing a “branding and marketing expert” and showing some slides on a concept rebrand, inspired by a dozen click bait posts on LinkedIn (in which they argue that everyone in China loves the colour red because it’s lucky lucky lucky!) is not a “value add”…especially when the key message was that this “expert” would be billed to the company at the “amazing value rate” of US$5000 – per day! We weren’t expecting to have to PAY for alternatives to dramfunded!
Talking to a distillery start up with the opening line that you don’t drink whisky but you’re a “super dooper baller investment guru”, all while holding some green juice muck in a sleek designer cup because of some new age detox nonsense doesn’t really cut the mustard. If there’s not whisky in that cup, we are absolutely not entertaining it as a serious alternative to dramfunding.
Of course, we’re sure that not all professional investors are like this. We just have enough confidence in our project to believe there are profits for investors, which is why professionals didn’t win out over dramfunding. Ultimately, we’d like to see something a bit more interesting than fluff, waffle and noise for the sake of being heard.
(Note to any professional investors reading this – don’t task any wheatgrass-smoothie-swigging-suited buzz-word wobblers with contacting us. They will walk out emotionally and mentally battered. Get a normal, no nonsense, WHISKY DRINKER to get in touch…)
It’s not uncommon for other big players in the industry to get involved in startup or early stage projects. In fact, the vast majority of distillery start-ups, despite their marketing fluff and waffle, are mostly only starting because they dream of a big-bucks cash out when one of the major players rock up with their army of suits and a cheque book.
Even us. Humble as we are with absolutely NO bragging whatsoever about this, we’ve had a number of approaches from some very big names in the industry (kinda rude to name them, but 2 very large baijiu producers and a rather well known Scotch whisky producer…) and enjoyed those conversations immensely. There’s zero shame in getting a kick out of a knock on the door when you’re nothing more than a slide deck and a muddy field.
One offer (one of the baijiu companies) was for a total buyout at double what we believed our value to be. Yes, even as just a slide deck and some mud. Flattering offer, but there was zero interest from all of us. Their second offer to buy 51% and retain full control over branding and marketing was met with a typically legendary outburst of mirth by the grey haired monster and the rest of the team. This was not going to be an alternative to dramfunded.
A second offer (the other baijiu company) was never going to go anywhere in our mindset. Ponying up their “head of whisky” who spent the entire call talking about their vision for whisky matured in Chinese yellow wine casks resulted in us pressing the mute key and rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter.
The old yellow wine cask maturation is a copy and paste from EVERY Chinese forum about whisky, where there’s a sheep level mentality about this being the best way to craft a “Chinese Whisky”. We think it’s nonsense. It would produce something vile and probably taste like a cheap vodka that has macerated rotten fruits, pencil shavings, and cigarette ash. Again, this was not offering alternatives to dramfunded.
As for the Scotch player, our first reaction was “what a bunch of dinosaurs”. With a mentality stuck back in the 1800’s their “vision” was to do what they have been doing for generations: the same old crap for the mass market, as their grandaddy’s grandad started.
In fact, calling them dinosaurs is a compliment. These people were from the Paleozoic era. Barely multicellular lifeforms. At least dinosaurs ran around with big scary teeth and gobbled up the smaller animals. The main armament of these guys was their ability to bore people to death. No surprise that we didn’t consider them as alternatives to dramfunded.
Again, we’re sure that not all of the industry players are so out of touch with reality, but until something a bit more in line with what we want to do, and more in touch with the fact that our calendar suggests we’re living in the 21st century and not the 19th century, then we’ll continue to do our thing with full independence from the major players. As it turns out, there really isn’t a good alternative to dramfunding.
(Note to any industry players. We have no interest in being an extension of your bulk spirits division. We’re doing single malt, we’re aiming for the top end of the market and we’re gonna shake up the global industry. If that’s “too ambitious” for you, then don’t waste your time, or ours.)
So that’s why we are who we are, and why we continue to be dramfunded. Whisky lovers chipping in their coins, to have some skin in the game, and combine their bragging rights for being an owner, all while spreading the word about what we’re doing.
In a culture where word of mouth and personal recommendations are the major influencer in consumer interest and purchasing trends, we think we’re doing the right thing.
In a project where everyone invested actually loves whisky and wants to be fresh, raw, creative, and distinctive in a commitment to put quality before profit and greed – we think we’re approaching this exactly as it should be.
Whisky for the people, by the people.
If you enjoyed reading about how we currently don’t see any alternatives to dramfunded, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
One of the easiest ways to help our project succeed is to take an interest in anything we have for sale. You can find out what we have if you CLICK HERE and go to our shop. We’ll make a few percentage points (after sales tax) and this goes directly to our project.
You could help us by simply buying your very own Brick for Life – a brick with a steel name plate wrapped around it, which will be cemented into The Plenum (our feature wall) in July 2023. Every brick owner is entitled to a free dram for life every time they visit us in Longyan, Fujian.
Or, you could learn more about being involved and help us grow to our target of 1000 stakeholders. You can read more about how we are Dramfunded if you CLICK HERE. Remember, we currently have no alternatives to dramfunded!
Last, but as important as all the other points above, you can help us by reading, liking and sharing our content across some of the more popular platforms.
LinkedIn users you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
YouTube users, you can CLICK HERE.
Twitter users, you can CLICK HERE.
Instagram users, you can CLICK HERE.
Beyond the obvious questions one asks an up-and-coming distillery, one question we frequently get asked is, “how is Nine Rivers Distillery funded?”. We’re Dramfunded. It’s one of the things that make our project so unique, and also underpins why we’re confident we’ll be a successful crafter of world class whisky. If you’re not sure what […]
Read MoreBeyond the obvious questions one asks an up-and-coming distillery, one question we frequently get asked is, “how is Nine Rivers Distillery funded?”. We’re Dramfunded.
It’s one of the things that make our project so unique, and also underpins why we’re confident we’ll be a successful crafter of world class whisky. If you’re not sure what Dramfunded is, then read on.
It’s our own word that we use to describe a group of whisky lovers, pooling their hard earned rambos* to fund a project. In our case, it’s Nine Rivers Distillery. A project that was initially funded (at our pre-seed round) by the equivalent of about a years spend on whisky for each of the first founders.
*rambos, a colloquial term we use to refer to our local currency – “RaMBo’s”
It’s kinda the same as Dramfunded, except without the requirement of being a whisky lover.
Crowdfunding isn’t a new concept. The Statue of Liberty was crowdfunded in 1885, or at least the pedestal to mount it on was. Since Congress couldn’t agree on the funding, and the New York Governor refused to use city funds, it seemed impossible until Joseph Pulitzer raised the needed funds over a 5 month period, accepting donations from US$0.15 to US$250. 160’000 people pooled just over US$100,000 and saved the statue, creating what we now call crowdfunding.
Since then, rock bands have used crowdfunding to finance tours, groups have raised money to fund legal cases, movies have been crowd funded and, in more recent years, startup businesses using crowd funding have been almost part of pop culture. Maybe you yourself have even used a crowdfunding website for something you liked or believed in.
However, while most crowdfunded projects use a crowdfunding website or portal, we don’t. Hence the title, Dramfunded, not Crowfunded.
Most crowdfunding projects for startups will be one of two types – rewards based crowdfunding or equity based crowdfunding.
Rewards based crowd funding is really simple. Someone has a concept for a product, but can’t afford to build it. In this way, the product is essentially pre-sold to interested consumers. The startup will then design, develop, and manufacture this product and eventually ship them out to the eagerly waiting customers.
There have been some amazing success stories. A project to make a funky watch snagged over US $20 million. A cooling box with speakers raked in US $13.2 million. Even a camera tripod hit over US $12 million.
Equity based crowd funding is different in the sense that the end consumer becomes an investor and receives shares in the business (equity) for their money. One of the most famous equity based crowd funding success stories is also in the alcohol industry. Brewdog are now reported to have 200,000 investors, raising over £100 million and now have a business valued at £2 billion. Not bad, Brewdog.
You wont find us on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe or any of the other hundreds of platforms.
There’s a number of reasons why you won’t.
Primarily, it’s because most crowd funding websites (and the processes involved) end up costing a huge chunk of money. The website itself can end up costing anything up to 12% of the capital raised, and most of them add another cost of a few percentage points for processing payments.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also another stack to be spent on a services agency to help put your story into “Crowdfunding Friendly Format”.
Crowdfunding is a competitive industry and there are literally thousands of projects live at any one time. Without a skilled and experienced professional agency (the types that know the best way to grab attention, tell a story, and get people to hand over their hard earned money) there is very little chance of success.
Agencies don’t just ensure the overall presentation and image is perfect, they also know all the tricks to get your story featured on crowd funding discussion websites, forums, and all the other places to get eyes on your project.
Do the math with us. Those agencies normally want 25% of the gross total raised, plus when you factor in an additional 12% lost to the crowd funding websites and their payment fees, and that’s almost 40% of the money gone, a steep sum.
Imagine paying full price for a bottle of whisky and you were given a 420ml bottle instead of a 700ml.
Exactly. Now you can understand why we went for the dramfunded approach!
Everything we have done so far. Everything we have achieved. Everything we have raised. It has all been through word of mouth. The chain is simple: a person gets involved through knowing everyone else at one of the various Whisky Networking events, then tells their friends about being part of a crowd of likeminded whisky lovers who want to do something special in the world of whisky.
That friend learns more, understands what we aim to achieve, wants to be a part of it, and then tells one or more of their friends. This continues and cascades and we grow. We raise more money at each stage of investment, sure, but more importantly, we have more people to talk about our ambitions to their network.
It’s not just about raising money. It’s also about building the brand awareness and communicating our message to all of our potential future customers. As well as the fact that everyone has a talent, a skill, or a passion, all of which we can utilise within our project.
Not being a multibillion dollar alcohol conglomerate, we can’t throw ¥1 billion at a project with two stills – or even just CLAIM to be doing that in some kind of shareholder appeasing spin doctoring.
What we ARE doing is building something with more than 7 times the production capacity of THAT project, for a fraction of the price. We spend less because everyone rolls up their sleeves and mucks in.
Dramfunded isn’t just about the money raised. Everyone has something more to give. With over 200 people involved, just an hour a week from each person gives us 200 hours a week. Many of them contribute considerably more than just an hour. But even on the minimum, that’s 200 hours a week of diverse skills, extensive experience, natural talent and real world business experience – considerably more use to us than a bunch of big bucks consultants flown in from abroad, armed with nothing more than an MBA, a shiny pair of shoes, and a Mandarin travel phrase book.
How many startups in any industry (let alone a distillery) can claim to have their own architects, structural engineers, construction experts, scientists, mechanical engineers, software developers, graphic designers, packaging experts, marketers, linguists, chemists, logistics experts, distributors, a minivan’s worth of international C-level executives, and a coach load of successful entrepreneurs, some of whom have listed multimillion dollar companies on stock exchanges?
Our group of passionate people are all united under a single vision to create world class whisky.
We’ll continue our story how we’re funding Nine Rivers Distillery. More reasons why we chose this approach. How it benefits our project and, the big ones – why haven’t we taken in any big corporate money (despite a number of offers……).
If you enjoyed reading about how we are dramfunded, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
One of the easiest ways to help our project succeed is to take an interest in anything we have for sale. You can find out what we have if you CLICK HERE and go to our shop. We’ll make a few percentage points (after sales tax) and this goes directly to our project.
You could help us by simply buying your very own Brick for Life – a brick with a steel name plate wrapped around it, which will be cemented into The Plenum (our feature wall) in July 2023. Every brick owner is entitled to a free dram for life every time they visit us in Longyan, Fujian.
Or, you could learn more about being involved and help us grow to our target of 500 stakeholders. You can read more about how we are Dramfunded if you CLICK HERE.
Last, but as important as all the other points above, you can help us by reading, liking and sharing our content across some of the more popular platforms.
LinkedIn users you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
YouTube users, you can CLICK HERE.
Twitter users, you can CLICK HERE.
Instagram users, you can CLICK HERE.
A phrase which has always stayed with me since I first heard it “there should be no waiver, on aroma and flavour”. We all have these wee sayings, which worm a way into our brains. Then for some reason or other, just sticks. Maybe, it’s because something subconsciously resonated, but it then takes a minute […]
Read MoreA phrase which has always stayed with me since I first heard it “there should be no waiver, on aroma and flavour”. We all have these wee sayings, which worm a way into our brains. Then for some reason or other, just sticks. Maybe, it’s because something subconsciously resonated, but it then takes a minute for our conscious brain to catch up.
Happened to me with this particular saying, which I can thank an old friend for. It came about over a few drinks…you know the conversations when you’re trying to put the world to rights. In our case we were discussing the commoditisation of brewing and fermenting for all types of alcohol. We’d managed to steal the pub’s prime spot, in the nook. Where we chatted about beers, ciders and the production of base alcohols that are used for whisky production.
One subject we’ve always agreed upon came up again for the umpteenth time that day. It was the subject of how large-scale commercial brewing and distilling is typically driven hard from a cost saving perspective. With an inevitable loss in quality, and “soul” in the final product. So let me try and define what I describe as “soul” in a product.
One can have two beers in identical glasses. They can be the same colour, have the same amount of foam or head and additionally the same carbonation (bubbles). However, when you come to sample (smell and taste). One of the beers can have noticeably less flavour and aroma, due to the way it’s been produced
This can be true for beer, cider, base alcohols for whisky production and a whole host of other beverages. Food too as I’m sure everyone has their favourite restaurant for exactly this reason.
The next day when I went back to work, it was brewing day. I remembered that line, “There should be no waiver on aroma and flavour” and it became one of my mantras in brewing.
I joined the Nine Rivers Distillery (9RD) team last December and get asked fairly often, what I’ve been working on. Plus, how I’m going to help the 9RD project deliver on its promise of putting China on the world whisky map. There’s a curiosity from my network and people in the drinks industry, why a brewer is part of a single malt whisky distillery project.
I’m building on the very conversation discussed above. Using my experience as a brewing professional to ensure Nine Rivers Distillery delivers on its founding principles of being driven by the quality of the final product – which starts at the very beginning of the whisky crafting process. It starts with grains, malting, milling, mashing and fermenting – which is exactly where we start in brewing!
This is in contrast to the approach that seems to dominate the whisky industry. Creating whiskies driven by the numbers on a spreadsheet. Costs being the apparent enemy to most modern whisky.
It’s the main reason I’m part of this journey. I’ve always strived to deliver in aroma and flavour in beers. Now to be given the opportunity to do the same with single malt whisky in China in a project that is not only talking the talk, but walking the walk (as demonstrated by the appointment of absolute legends in the whisky industry, such as Stuart MacPherson).
I will be putting together a series of articles over the next few months that will outline how we will approach the pre-distillation processes involved in crafting of single malt whisky. How Nine Rivers Distillery will differentiate itself from the global whisky industry by putting quality before costs.
We’ll not re-invent the wheel, nor ever claim to do so. There are so many great people in this industry, who’ve done amazing work. They’ve taken ideas, explored them as well as shared some of their findings. We’ll just be looking at doing all it, together, as the foundation to creating better whisky.
I come from a brewing background so I know barley well. Barley plays a massive role in the crafting of whisky. Both as single malt, and as single grains or blends. Malted barley is critical in some amount for all whiskies. It creates the enzymes used for converting starches to sugars that are then used to feed yeasts that create alcohol.
What most people don’t realise is that there are around 5,500 types of barley. However, not all are used for making alcohol. Even less are used in whisky production. In fact there are only around a dozen types of barley that are used in the whisky industry. It’s no coincidence that these are the most cost effective types of barley as opposed to the types that could give the best aromas and flavours. Commercial distillers need the highest yeilds possible – more litres of alcohol per ton of grain, in the shortest time possible.
Whisky is big business, with Statista stating revenue in the industry will amount to US$88.07bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 5.18% (CAGR 2023-2027). A very small number of multi-billion-dollar corporations dominate whisky production – all with shareholders to appease with dividends derived from profits.
Coming from a brewing background I know many of the big breweries, and I know first hand that they work to costing a product first, and then they build a recipe around this number.
If you are selling tens of million of bottles of beer per year and you have an opportunity to save just 1% on the manufacturing, then the addition to the bottom line is substantial. The same principles apply in whisky production too. It’s often the same companies who own both the big beer and whisky brands, seen on supermarket shelves.
As a brewer, grains are my starting point. A lot of brewers concentrate on differentiation through hops. Of course, hops are important, but grains are the “soul” of a beer. Hops are (in my opinion) more like the seasoning. No amount of salt and pepper can make a cheap steak taste as good as a prime cut of wagyu. No amount of fancy hops can make a good beer out of something made from substandard grains or an inferior mash
Barley and grain terroir – How and where the grains are grown can affect the sensory of a whisky
The revival of heritage grains – How European barleys are being revived and bringing back flavours many thought were lost.
The use of specialist malts – Looking at specialties like roasted malts used in brewing, and how they can impact the final whisky.
Non-Traditional Whisky Grains – There’s whisky being made all over the globe. Not all distilleries use grains typically associated with whisky production. We plan to explore this topic on your behalf, and share our findings with you.
Yeasts – how we will be collecting and developing natural yeast strains from our local environment and integrating these into our fermentation to help create a unique “Longyan, Fujian” whisky.
“There should be no waiver, on aroma and flavour” is a mantra I live by. It’s one I ’Il continue using during my Nine Rivers Distillery journey. The ethos of the project is to make quality product at any cost, while still offering good value to whisky lovers resonates with me and I’ll ensure that everything pre-distillation will deliver.
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Short straws drawn, so now it’s my turn to pile in with some words about me, my life in China and how I’m part of the connection between Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery. So let’s start with the basics: my name is Marc Alexander, I’m 33 years old and I’ve been in China for a […]
Read MoreShort straws drawn, so now it’s my turn to pile in with some words about me, my life in China and how I’m part of the connection between Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery.
So let’s start with the basics: my name is Marc Alexander, I’m 33 years old and I’ve been in China for a decade. Like a lot of expats here in China, I’m involved in education and I teach at an international school in Xiamen.
I’m originally from Leeds, which is probably unheard of to most people unless you’re a soccer fan. It’s a city in the north of England built around the River Aire, with the name Leeds being derived from some ancient word that means fast flowing river. Soccer aside, it’s the home of carbonated water (which was invented in Leeds in the 1760’s) and used to be a major mill town alongside iron foundries, engineering companies and printworks. But as you can probably see from the picture above, it has absolutely nothing to do with Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery!
Had I been born in Sheffield (about 60 km away) I could make some smart reference to pottery, ceramic and of course China (the English definition of China being porcelain ceramic ware) but I wasn’t, so I can’t.
I actually came to China for a year of doing something left field and unconventional in a plan that saw me originally going back to the UK to fall into a conventional life of teaching. That was a decade ago. I’ve since got married, started a family and have no real interest to leave.
China very quickly became not only a part of my life, but it created the environment for me that I wanted to live in. There’s a huge comfort in China due to the overall safety of living here and when you factor in salaries and it’s relativity to the general cost of living, then the QUALITY of life here in China is higher than I would have if I went back home to the UK.
Everyone has their own story about how they got into whisky. For me it was half pushed and half dragged by Bajan Jeremy (he claims to be from Canada, but he has this fantastically rich accent that can only be described as Bajan Creole).
I wasn’t exactly kicking and screaming but had some initial reservations due to typical stereotypes associated with whisky drinking and whisky drinkers in general.
A night out on a quick crash course with Bajan Jeremy and I enjoyed it enough to join some of the whisky groups that Jeremy was a part of, and start my journey into whisky.
Through the groups I learned about Nine Rivers Distillery and chatted to a few people that were already involved in the project. Eventually I talked with Jay a few times and, due to the passion, the creativity and the vision I experienced, I decided to get involved as an investor in the project.
One of the key things that distinguishes this project from every other startup distillery that I’ve read about is the involvement of us as investors. Sure, there are a few people that have slung in some wedge and done nothing. Whether they are actually just too busy in life, or just lazy slobs, is something they can best answer themselves. But for me, I always wanted to be a part of it.
I don’t know how to make whisky. Like the vast majority of whisky lovers I know the theory. We all know it’s about malting, milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, casking and then eventually bottling. But to actually make something, there are far too many things I don’t have experience in. But where I have at least some time and skill, I throw in some effort.
I help out on writing content. I help out on social media. I get involved with organizing and hosting the Xiamen Whisky Networking events – the very same events that were the catalyst for the Nine Rivers Distillery project. The Founders’ Flight in Xiamen was an amazing night!
Every little helps and every hour I put in takes an hour of pressure away from the core team so they have more time for the more important and strategic stuff. It also gives me the pride of being able to say I was more than just an investor. I got involved and helped make the project happen.
Being based in Xiamen, I’m less than 2 hours drive away from the site. Not quite on my doorstep but close enough to go up on a weekend at least once a month and get involved in the construction. Even if I’m just making the coffees, I want to be a part of the energy on site that will go into building our distillery. I’m not the only person based in Xiamen that is involved in the project. There’s a whole crowd of us, and let’s not forget that the very first investment agreement was signed in Xiamen at CIFIT back in 2019. (There was another agreement signed last year for the Red Rock Mountain Cooperage project!)
All this adds up to make the Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery connection really strong. Perhaps we won’t unseat Shenzhen as the spiritual home of the project, but we’ll be number 2 on the list of candidates for sure.
I will be leading a group of us investors from Xiamen and we will be spending a lot more time at the site in Longyan during July to help out with The Plenum, a wall featuring names on steel plates that will be wrapped around bricks and cemented into the wall. There will be an event at the end of July where of our investors and everyone that has bought a brick, will be invited to our site for a day long event.
The building of this feature wall is going to be a huge milestone for everyone involved in the project. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else there at the end of July 2023!
Marc Alexander
If you enjoyed reading this, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
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